news/AAPL/2023.01.31/Stocks up, yields dip after U.S. data; Fed on deck.txt

*U.S. Federal Reserve policy decision awaited*ECB, BoE policy announcements due Thursday*MSCI index on pace for biggest January pct gain since 2019*U.S. labor costs growth slows in Q4NEW YORK, Jan 31 (Reuters) -A gauge of global stocks rose on Tuesday while U.S. Treasury
yields mostly fell as investors assessed economic data and
earnings reports ahead of a run of central bank policy
announcements.On Wall Street, U.S. stocks were higher, reversing declines
in equity futures after data showed labor cost growth in the
fourth quarter was the smallest in a year, at 1.0%, even in a
tight labor market. Other data showed consumer confidence eased
in January, as inflation expectations for the next 12 months
climbed to 6.8% from 6.6% last month.The Federal Reserve is widely expected to raise interest
rates by 25 basis points (bps) at the conclusion of its two-day
policy meeting on Wednesday. Investors will closely monitor
comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell following the announcement
for clues on the path of monetary policy."The Fed tomorrow will have to strike a delicate balance in
signaling slowing in the pace of rate increases, while at the
same time emphasizing that they're not done yet with tightening
rates," Oscar Munoz, U.S. macro strategist at TD Securities,
told the Reuters Global Markets Forum."It has to acknowledge the recent improvement in the
inflation data, but also note that the job's not done yet
despite the recent good news."The Dow Jones Industrial Averagerose 228.15 points, or 0.68%,to33,945.24, the S&P 500gained 37.97 points, or 0.95%,to4,055.74, and the Nasdaq Compositeadded 137.22 points, or 1.2%,to11,531.04.The S&P 500, up about 5.2% for the month, is on track
for its first January gain since 2019.Interest rate announcements from the Bank of England and the
European Central Bank are scheduled for Thursday, with both seen
as likely to hike rates by 50 basis points.Markets will also grapple with a host of U.S. economic data
this week, culminating in Friday's payrolls report for January.
Investors see signs of weakening in the labor market as a key
factor in bringing down high inflation. Other data this week
include gauges of the manufacturing and services sectors.In addition, more than 100 S&P 500 companies, including
market heavyweights Apple Inc, Amazon.com Inc
and Google parent Alphabet, are scheduled to report
results this week.Caterpillar and McDonald's both lost ground
on Tuesday following their quarterly results. However, Exxon
Mobil rose after posting a $56 billion net profit for 2022.European shares retreated ahead of the central bank meetings
to end the month on a down note, but still notched their biggest
January percentage gain since 2015. Economic data for the euro
zone showed slight growth for the fourth quarter, but further
weakness is expected this year.The pan-European STOXX 600 index lost 0.26%, and
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe gained
0.39%. MSCI's index was on pace for its biggest January
percentage gain since 2019.Benchmark U.S. 10-year notes were down 2.9 basis
points to 3.522% in the wake of the data, after hitting a
two-week high of 3.574% on Monday.In currencies, the U.S. dollar index, on track for a
fourth month of declines, fell 0.196%, with the euro up
0.22% to $1.0868.Oil prices recovered from earlier lows, as U.S. crude
recently rose 0.81% to $78.53 per barrel and Brent was
at $84.47, down 0.51% on the day.(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; additional reporting by Lisa
Pauline Mattackal; editing by Diane Craft and Leslie Adler)